We didn’t need any reminding over the past week that so much going on in the world, and even in our own communities, is out of our control. It’s overwhelming, it’s frustrating, and for so many reasons the future seems uncertain. When it comes to the course of our own lives, we have more control, although still far from complete mastery. Life becomes a cloth of many colors, some of which we can take pride in, others not so much. … Read More
Last time I wrote about the pinnacle of the Christian calendar—Easter. This time I’m also heading into territory where I’m no expert—science. We all know that religion and that relentless quest for facts about Nature have been getting into skirmishes, sometimes all-out battles—for eons. These days, though, with the future of the Earth looking especially precarious, it feels more and more as if it’s “all faiths on deck” for our home planet. But it turns out science doesn’t speak with … Read More
On Super Bowl Sunday, or on any other day for that matter, do you prefer to keep politics, religion and sports separate — like food items not touching on a plate—or do you like the mélange of tastes that comes when they’re all swirling around together? Seems to me that there are really good kinds of soups, the broth-based ones with wholesome ingredients that bring comfort on cold days; and then the other kind that could, with the right ingredients … Read More
“Alternative beliefs” I can buy, but “alternative facts” ? The landscape is shifting, for sure, and my panorama is not what it used to be. Now, Truth has to go into battle with Falsehood on a daily basis. Contrasts and juxtapositions may be my bread and butter here, but I didn’t count on the kind that threaten to pull the rug right out from under us. Essentially, I was pretty content trying to deepen my understanding of the different ways … Read More
Isn’t it wonderful how some of us can listen, or view, something and pronounce it a triumph and then others of us can have the exact same sensory experience and call it a travesty? Don’t worry, I am not taking the impending Inauguration as my subject. That would be a room-clearer for sure. Lo and behold, after the Christmas Hymns and Carols have been put away, and we’ve sung as much of “Auld Lang Syne” as we could remember (a … Read More
President-elect Trump is certain that “the president can’t have conflict of interest.” Oh really? Not much mentioned during the campaign, this controversy now has reached a boiling point. Never before has someone presided over a world-wide multi-million dollar business at the same time as presiding over a country. It sounds like some kind of magic show: now you see it, now you don’t. Maybe he could be called Hoodwinker-in-Chief. Don’t worry—in this post-Thanksgiving blog, politics will be only a “side.” … Read More
The closer the election gets, the more I love my dog. And once it’s over, I’ll love him even more. Recently my Rocky has gotten me thinking about a certain quality, one he demonstrates every time we’re out on the non-campaign trails (= daily). In humans, it’s just about always considered a good thing. In dogs, maybe not quite so much. What is it? Stick-to-it-iveness. By that I mean, in canine terms at least, something like “the compulsion to find … Read More
As the World Series gets underway, it’s as good a time as any to celebrate the idea of fervor, in a variety of forms. I propose to start with baseball, move gingerly through politics to rock & roll, and end up at religion. Are you with me? Defined as “an intense and passionate feeling,” the word can definitely go either way—that is, there can be a kind you like and another kind you can’t stand. The fervor that Chicago fans … Read More
It’s October, the Red Sox are in the playoffs, Big Papi is heading out in a blaze of glory. What better time to reflect on the amazing and occasionally incongruous proximity, at least some of the time, between sports and religion? Any thinking person knows that one realm—the one containing huge stadiums, celebrity players, non-stop action, winners and losers, fans who go crazy for their teams, huge sums of money— is completely different from the other, sacred one. And yet, … Read More
Look! Over there! It’s Mother Teresa, white robe flying, sprinting madly to get ahead of her competitors, win the race and claim the trophy. Wait…there must be some kind of mistake. This was a woman whose life work was tending to the poor, not striving to get anything for herself. When she wasn’t helping people directly, she was praying. Know that feeling when you see someone familiar, but out of context, and it jumbles up your brain? Like when you’re … Read More